Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini called on Malta to take in a rescue vessel carrying more than 200 migrants, and insisted the NGO-operated ship be impounded and its crew detained.
“For the safety of the crew and passengers we have asked Malta to open its ports,” the leader of the far-right League tweeted, claiming the vessel is in Maltese waters. “It is clear that the ship will then have to be seized, and its crew detained. [It should] never again be out trafficking at sea.”
Salvini, who has pledged to put an end to illegal immigration by denying access to Italian ports for rescue vessels run by NGOs, on Thursday accused the vessel of disrupting rescue operations in Libyan waters and refused to allow it to dock in Italy.
The ship, operated by German NGO Mission Lifeline and sailing under a Dutch flag, is carrying 239 migrants rescued off the coast of Libya.
Source: Politico
